The events which took place Sunday night will weigh heavily upon the hearts of Americans for years to come, as have the events of prior senseless acts of horrifying violence. When these terrible events happen, the country largely unifies against the act of violence. We are all in agreement that violence, in this case murder, is unacceptable and should be punished. Prayers are being offered, to help and support those who are affected. Outpourings of sorrow, condolences, and mourning trend all over the internet. Even anger is expressed, which is understandable, but often leads to some divisive decision making, using "heat-of-the-moment" emotional "reason."

Voices coming from the morally-superior left never fail to almost immediately fire up the anti-gun rhetoric. Hillary Clinton, in the morning hours, while the loss of human life was still being assessed, tweeted this:

"The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots. Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get." -Twitter post from @HillaryClinton, 7:03am 10/2/17.

Wow. Let's dissect the argument behind this ignorant comment. First of all, there was no silencer involved. There are several hypothetical additions which can be piled onto this story to theoretically make it worse, but Hillary chose one she could link directly to the NRA. What if the shooter had partners helping him? What if he had hidden bombs around the concert area, so that those fleeing the scene would be killed by explosions? Either of those scenarios, and many others, would have made the situation worse. Hillary decided to stretch, using faulty misinformed speculation, to conjure up an indictment against the NRA. She is making this statement, so that individuals will link this heartbreaking emotion, caused by this tragedy, to a gun control issue, which had nothing to do with this incident. The ultimate goal being to sway public opinion away from matters of fact, and dilute the debate with blind emotion.

Hillary may not realize this, but she also unfairly and disgustingly linked the NRA to this crime, as well. It would be equally evil to mention an alcoholic beverage company, who may lobby for less stringent regulation, immediately following a fatal drunk driving accident. This is incredibly irresponsible, and potentially dangerous. There is no evidence that the NRA supports, encourages, or has any active responsible role tying them to mass shootings. The NRA, just like any other business or organization, seeks to promote their products' lawful use. Where they see law as overbearing, they politic in favor of rolling back regulations. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with this, nor does this make them responsible for what evil human beings decide to do with their products.

Evil human beings actually are responsible for the murders they commit. The guns aren't responsible. The murderer does not murder, because they have a gun, rather they murder because they wish to murder! If a person wants another person (or persons) dead, why would convenience, or lack thereof, stop them? To believe that simply regulating certain guns or taking guns off of the street in general will quell violence, is extremely ignorant. The real question is this: What is the person's ultimate goal? If we are talking about someone who yearns to shoot a person, then it is reasonable to suspect that absent a gun, they will not shoot anyone. However, when we are talking about individuals who have the urge to end the life of another, it is conceivable to reason that simply removing one method of killing, is not likely to stop the murder attempt. The human being is the perpetrator. The human being kills, with whatever is available to them, by any means necessary.

My Suggestion

All of this is leading toward a more important, and constructive conversation, I believe. This is the conversation of: What in the world is leading to all of these atrocities? Usually there is a clear motive, which is eventually revealed. The person was motivated by hatred, guilt, loneliness, self-loathing, depression, anger, mental illness, payback, etc. Remove the motivating factor, and the murderous flame is drowned out. Parents: Pay attention to your children, even into adulthood. Brothers, sisters, cousins, and other close relatives: Keep in contact with each other, and take a legitimate interest in the lives of one another. Teachers: Pay attention to your students, and be on the lookout for warning signs. Employers and co-workers: Get to know your fellow employees, offer them your undivided attention from time to time, and point them in the direction of help, if need be. We should be working together within our communities, taking an active interest in one another, promoting emotional wellness. We should not seek to be blind to one another's cries for help. I think if we all invest a small portion of our lives to the betterment of those around us, in love and humility, we can go a long way toward seeing a significant reduction in the number of these mass shooting tragedies.